Although precious metals have endured a great deal of cautionary commentary of late, weak conditions in the stock market, failure at major mortgage companies, over extension in credit, problems with the banking industry, weakness with the U.S. dollar and corrections in the rise of crude oil have all conspired to keep gold and silver at the forefront of stable liquid investments. With all living costs on the rise and the economy weak beyond belief, gold is one solid concern on a sketchy horizon.

In the early part of this week gold made another run at $1,000 an ounce, but fell short. It rests this morning, after some profit consolidation, at about $975. Silver sits at just about $19.00.

In the coin market the last 12 month have been phenomenal. Prices for classic material have been driven through the roof by a weakened dollar and burgeoning spot prices.

Lately, all of my time is being spent pushing up prices of 17th Century German States, Austrian, French and other central European coinage for our upcoming 4th edition of the 1601-1700 Standard Catalog of World Coins. To view my progress and see just how extensive and critical these updates are, please stop over at www.numismaster.com and register. For about $80.00 a year you can be at the leading edge of all things numismatic. You can see updates, additions and price changes months before the rest of the hobby gets them in the print edition.

About the AuthorTom Michael has been Krause Publications primary market analyst on more than 80 world and United States coin catalogs produced over the last 20 years. He came to KP in 1987 with a bachelor of arts degree in history, a master of arts degree in economics and a history of coin collecting stretching back to the 1960s. He began collecting world coins as a child by asking friends and relatives to bring coins back from overseas trips, visiting flea markets and having his mother watch for foreign coins in her register at the local grocery store. Today he works with a dedicated base of over 200 contributors to provide accurate market values for the five-volume Standard Catalog of World Coins series, as well as many specialty catalogs, including Coins & Currency of the Middle East and the fifth edition of Unusual World Coins.